Big Train runs past Newnan

By Stuart Crosby

The Times-Herald (Newnan)

The East Alabama Big Train continue to have the Newnan Braves' number as Trey Vice and two relievers combined on a seven-hitter to come away with a 5-1 Great South League victory Friday night at Northgate High School.
The Big Train evened their record at 1-1 with the win while the Braves fell to 0-2, heading into today's 5:30 p.m. game against the Georgia Stars at LaGrange College's Cleveland Field.
The Stars, who beat the Big Train 7-6 on Tuesday, is comprised mainly of players from LaGrange College with school coaches on the staff.
Pitching dictated the pace of the first three innings as Bryan Blough of the Braves retired nine of 11 batters with five strikeouts and allowing two infield singles while Vice allowed a second inning walk to Brandon Behenna.
The Big Train, who were 5-0 against the Braves last year with four of the games in doubt until the last couple of innings, got on the scoreboard with one out in the top of the fourth inning on the first of two homers by Adam Russell.
Blough surrendered back-to-back singles after the home run but managed to get out of the jam.
Vice got out of trouble as well with two runners on in the bottom of the inning, retiring recent East Coweta graduate Seth Newton on a strikeout.
Blough caught a bad break in the fifth when a strikeout pitch to Russell went to the backstop. Two batters later, he surrendered an RBI single to Byne Gooden and Eric Burdette was brought into the game to relieve Blough.
Burdette surrendered an RBI groundout to make it 3-0.
The Big Train added two more runs in the top of the sixth inning as Burdette surrendered a two-run shot over the left field fence as Russell connected for his second home run.
The Braves averted a shutout in the bottom of the eighth inning when Sparks led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a solo home run over the center field fence.
In the top of the ninth inning, Casey Wilson took over for the Braves and allowed a pair of one out singles before settling down to retire two of the next three batters.
Sparks was 2-for-4 at the plate including the home run while former Northgate Viking Derek Hooper was 3-for-5 in the game.